Iisalmi is a city in North Savonia.

Understand

Formerly a fairly important railway junction, nowadays Iisalmi is probably mostly associated with the Olvi brewery and its products.

Get in

By plane

Iisalmi doesn't have an airport, the closest ones are in Kuopio and Kajaani, 80 km south and north, respectively.

By train

Trains on the line between Kuopio and Kajaani, including trains from Helsinki to Kajaani, stop at Iisalmi.

• 1 Iisalmi railway station (Iisalmen rautatieasema). (updated Apr 2020)

By bus

Buses along highway 5 stop in Iisalmi.

By car

As with most other towns in Finland, arriving by car is always an option.

By boat

The town is reachable by boat from Saimaa and thereby from the sea. After Kuopio there is a 12 m hight restriction.

Get around

By bus

Iisalmi has two local bus lines. Information about the timetables can be found here. Matka.fi route planner includes timetables of Iisalmi local transport lines inside town and to neighbouring countryside.

By taxi

• Menevä Iisalmi, ☏ +358 50-471-0470 (head of office), toll-free: 0800-02120 (booking). Also bookable by app or web. Fixed price based on calculated route and time if destination address given when booking by app or web. Flag fall M–Sa 06:00–18:00: €4, other times and holidays: €7; 1–4 persons €0.90/km + €0.90/km, 5–8 persons minimum €20, €1.60/km + €0.90/min (July 2020). (updated Jul 2020)

See

Olvi brewery museum

• 1 Olvi brewery museum (Olvi Panimomuseo), Luuniementie 2. Mo-Fr 10AM-3PM. One of Finland's largest breweries, Olvi, is situated in Iisalmi. They have a museum where you can learn about beer and soft drink manufacturing. free. 
• 2 Koljonvirta. A strait a few kilometers northeast of the city centre connecting lakes Iso-Ii and Porovesi. The bridge over Koljonvirta was the site of a battle between Swedish and Russian forces during the Napoleonic wars in 1808. 

Do

Runni Spa

• 1 Runni Spa, in Runni village (20 km west of central Iisalmi). Healthy baths and outdoor activities in one of the oldest spas still in use in Finland. 

Festivals

• Oluset, Limuset ja Rokkiset: 10–11 July 2020. Oluset is a music and beer festival. Limuset and Rokkiset are alcohol-free rock concerts and accessible also to under 18s. (date needs updating)

Eat

• 1 Ravintola Olutmestari, Veikonkatu 1. Beer restaurant next to the harbour and near the Olvi brewery. In the summer you can also eat at Ravintola Kuappi, a small yellow cottage on their yard that reportedly is the smallest restaurant in the world with a table for two — unsurprisingly you need to reserve beforehand. (updated Dec 2015)

Sleep

• 1 Sokos Hotel Koljonvirta, Savonkatu 18, ☏ +358 10 7856 100, fax: +358 17 812 012, sales.iisalmi@sokoshotels.fi. Like any hotel in the Sokos chain, this is an upper mid-range hotel downtown. Average rooms with tv, private bathrooms, some rooms have their own small sauna. The hotel has a restaurant and a couple of places to drink. rates from €140 including breakfast. (updated Dec 2015)
• Runni Spa, mentioned in the Do section, is also a hotel.
• 2 Hotel Golden Dome Iisalmi (Boutique Hotel Artos), Kyllikinkatu 8 (Near Panimomuseo), ☏ +358 0108 08097. Check-in: 14:00 PM, check-out: 12:00 PM. 72€. (updated Jun 2016)

Go next

• Kajaani
• Kuopio
• Nurmes
• Ylivieska

Routes through Iisalmi

Sodankylä ← Kajaani ←

N  S

→ Kuopio → Turku